Rep. Richard Baker has assembled an impressive line-up of housing superstars for his round table discussion this afternoon on how best to strengthen federal supervision of Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and the Federal Home Loan Banks.

And why not? These government sponsored enterprises are responsible for the life blood of housing -- mortgage money. In one way or another, they touch more than six out of 10 home loans.

The Louisiana Republican is chairman of the House Banking Committee's Capital Markets, Securities and Government Sponsored Enterprises Subcommittee and the author of controversial legislation that would tighten supervision and regulation of the housing GSEs and impose more market discipline on their activities.

With so little time left in this election-shortened legislative session, there's absolutely no chance that Rep. Baker's bill will reach the President's before the Chief Executive rides off into the sunset. But Baker is sponsoring the round table discussion in hopes of building a consensus on creating a regulatory board to oversee the housing GSEs.

Not surprisingly, the chairmen of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, Franklin Raines and Leland Brendsal, will participate in what is sure to be an extremely lively discussion. So will the Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight, the agency that currently oversees the safety and soundness of the GSEs.

However, the GSEs other regulator, the Department of Housing and Urban Development, had yet to confirm its participation as of late last week. But former Under Secretary Nicolas P. Retsinas will be present. Retsinas is now director of the Harvard Joint Center for Housing Studies.

Most of the key trade associations will be represented -- as will a number of think tanks, most of which believe Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac need to be reigned in. And home buyers, sellers and owners will be represented by the Consumers Union and AARP. In all, 29 participants were listed by the subcommittee.

Published: September 12, 2000

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When Lew Sichelman first started writing about housing in 1969, he was the youngest real estate writer in the country. Now, 37 years later, he's one of the oldest -- and most decorated. He has been rated the top housing columnist in the country by the National Association of Realtors as well as by his peers in the National Association of Real Estate Editors. Indeed, NAREE has recognized his work on numerous occasions. One year - due to his advancing age, he can't recall which one - he earned top honors in the annual NAREE Journalism Contest in three out of the four major writing categories. It was the first time one writer has won so many NAREE awards in a single year. Known for his ability to make even the most difficult topics understandable, Sichelman also has been honored by the National Association of Home Builders and the Mortgage Bankers Association. He began providing in-depth coverage of and consumer-oriented information about housing and housing finance at the Washington Daily News, where he was real estate editor. He held that same position for nine more years at the Washington Star, which purchased the News in 1972. The Star, a so-called "writer's newspaper" which also had the misfortune of being an evening paper, was put out of its misery in 1981, and Sichelman, who had begun self-syndicating his column in 1978, decided to become a full-time columnist. Today, his column, "The Housing Scene," is distributed by United Media to newspapers throughout the country. He also is on the staff of National Mortgage News, an independent newspaper which is considered the bible of the mortgage business. And he writes for numerous other publications, including MarketWatch.com, where he answers readers questions once a week, Sports Illustrated (don't ask), RealtyTimes.com, BigBuilder and others. Sichelman is married, the father of five and grandfather of eleven.